Ukrainian band Kalush Orchestra's upbeat, melodic entry for this month's Eurovision Song Contest was written as a tribute to the frontman's mother, but it has become an anthem to the nation's war-ravaged motherland since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Stefania is the most-watched song on YouTube among the 35 national entries that will compete in the Eurovision Song Contest next week in Italy's northern industrial city of Turin.
While some bookmakers and data analysts have pegged others to win, the song by Kalush Orchestra is quickly becoming a sentimental favourite. "I'll always find my way home, even if all roads are destroyed," Kalush Orchestra frontman Oleh Psiuk wrote in Stefania.
The lyrics have become more poignant as Russian missiles pound Ukrainian cities and villages, forcing more than 11 million people to flee the country already.
